


Call Off Your Ghost

by PrinceSkylar



Series: Taking Care Of Things [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Daddy Issues, Family Feels, Friendship, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Introspection, Kibas father (OC), Multi, future kankuro/kiba, kiba loves his friends a lot ok, sakura is a good friend, team 8 feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 17:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13815705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: When he thinks about his dad Kiba can't really recall a whole lot. He was young when his dad was around, after all, and as much as he tried he can't remember as much as he wished he could, or as much as his sister probably could. He can remember a few things, at least. He could remember that his dad was tall, nearly a head taller than his mother, with broad shoulders and big hands. Big hands that used to hoist Kiba up off his feet like he didn't weigh a thing; children are weightless to their parents though, aren't they? He knew for a fact his dad had loved to laugh and he could remember that man's laugh the most. Loud enough to make the room shake, but it sounded wonderful to Kiba when he was a little boy."You know Kiba," Sakura tucked some hair behind her ear, letting Ino take her sake glass from her other hand. "If it bothers you that much you should just go find him and tell him how you feel."Or rather, Kiba's journey to find his Dead beat Dad, and maybe figure himself out a little more than he planned to in the first place.





	Call Off Your Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm a huge Kiba fan, I love him. I wanted to do something more...emotional with him. So I'm making this series about him wanting to meet his dad, and since the only canon info we have about his dad is that he bailed on the family, I've decided to work with that. This is a major universe change by the way. Sakura's on her way to becoming Hokage, most of the couples are changed up, Kiba's got more emotions than We were given in the manga and anime.  
> Eventually this is gonna be a Kankro/Kiba fic, once I get there. This shouldn't be a super long series but it'll be a decent length.  
> So enjoy Kiba's dad crisis, and let's see how this goes?

When he thinks about his dad Kiba can't really recall a whole lot. He was young when his dad was around, after all, and as much as he tried he can't remember as much as he wished he could, or as much as his sister probably could. He can remember a few things, at least. He could remember that his dad was tall, nearly a head taller than his mother, with broad shoulders and big hands. Big hands that used to hoist Kiba up off his feet like he didn't weigh a thing; children are weightless to their parents though, aren't they? He knew for a fact his dad had loved to laugh and he could remember that man's laugh the most. Loud enough to make the room shake, but it sounded wonderful to Kiba when he was a little boy. His dad's voice was a far distant memory that he was sure he probably heard in his dreams sometimes, but the sound fluttered away from him as soon as his eyes opened.

Most of his friends had dads growing up and that was okay, it really was. Kiba had never really thought too much on it when he was young. He had his mom and he had Hana, the two strongest women he knew in the entire  _world_  and they were raising him just fine. But when he got older It wasn't like he didn't think about it in passing, catching glimpses of Ino and her dad walking through the streets together and wondering, vaguely, if he and his own father would have looked that comfortable doing the same thing. Hinata talked about her dad a lot too and while they weren't on the best terms, and Kiba kind of wanted to deck the guy, the girl had so much admiration for her father that it was almost too hard to hear sometimes. His dad had been a great shinobi too, from what his mother and sister had told him in the past. Kiba wished, just a little, that he had been old enough to see the man in action.

He was actually kind of irritated with how much he'd been thinking about his dad lately, when he was so much older now. A couple years after that damn war when he had so many other things to worry about. Naruto and Sasuke were getting married in a couple months, a wedding Kiba couldn't help but breath a  _"It's about damn time."_  at. Sakura was on her way to becoming the Hokage once Kakashi stepped down, Akamaru had fathered a liter of pups back at his mom's place..there were so many things he could have been focusing on right now and yet here he was, his dad circling his mind when he was supposed to be having fun with his friends. It wasn't often that they all had the same day free, after all, and going out for drinks with the group was such a fun activity.

Kiba shook his head free of his thoughts, hopefully, and reached across the table for the sake bottle that Ino had been hogging to herself for the past half hour. He looked around for his glass and poured himself some, smiling a bit as he held the bottle up. "Someone take this before Ino does again!"

"Oh, gimme!" Tenten grinned, or maybe it was a smirk? She was a better drinker than all of them and didn't even look buzzed yet, a drastic difference from Neji, swaying bit in his spot beside his girlfriend. She took the sake bottle from Kiba and poured herself another drink, letting Neji lean heavily into her as she took a drink.

Kiba chuckled softly and took a sip of his own. He was bordering on buzzed himself, feeling the warmth in his stomach from the booze. He didn't really feel like drinking in the first place though, his mind too occupied with things he should have stopped thinking about when he was a kid. The booze, at least, tasted good and the laughter of all his friends sounded like music to his ears. Yeah, he got a little sentimental when he drank. Turning to Naruto, who looked pleasantly buzzed himself, Kiba mustered up a small smirk. "So how's the wedding planning going, huh?"

Blue eyes blinked a bit before they widened, Naruto's smile lighting up his entire face. "It's going great! I'm so excited!"

"I've been doing most of the planning for you!" Ino cackled from the other end of the table, her lip caught between her teeth to try and stop herself from grinning too wide. When Naruto giggled in response Ino rolled her eyes a little bit. "You should have heard the argument we all had about what flowers to use. It was so awful."

"It wasn't awful." Sasuke replied, the smallest of smiles tugging at his lips. "You and Naruto just have a lot of...creative differences."

"Like you were any help." Naruto scoffed and shoved his fiance gently. He reached for the chopsticks he had set down earlier, picking up a small chunk of pork and tossing it onto the grill in the middle of their long table. "You just kept saying you didn't care what flowers we had, that it was  _fine_  and whatever I wanted was  _perfect_."

Sasuke blinked at that, a rare look of surprise on his face. "I was making it easier. Do you really think I have personal flower preferences?"

"Doesn't everybody?" Ino drawled, her head lolling to the side to rest on Sakura's shoulder. "We got it figured out eventually, but Naruto's right. Sasuke was absolutely no help at all."

Kiba snickered at that, sipping his drink again. He hadn't been the biggest fan of Sasuke back in the day for obvious reasons. They didn't have a lot in common in the long run. Kiba couldn't relate to the things Sasuke had been through even if he tried, so he didn't try at all. Sasuke coming home  _finally_  after the war had left them all a little hesitant. Kiba was protective of his friends, after all, and Naruto was absolutely no exception. His worries had been laid to rest pretty quickly though, after Sasuke had made it painfully obvious he had no intentions of leaving the village, or Naruto, again. They were a cute couple which had been old news for ages. Sasuke made Naruto happy. Naruto was helping Sasuke deal with everything going on in his head that brought him down to his knees. Kiba was happy for them both. Love was...a great thing, he was sure.

"Naruto, are you inviting Gaara to the wedding?" Hinata had to peer around Shino to look at Naruto, her smile soft and hesitant.

Naruto, in the middle of flipping his meat on the grill, nodded eagerly as his head jerked up to look at Hinata. "Of course! I haven't sent an invitation yet though. I should probably do that; thanks for reminding me, Hinata!"

"I can send the invitation for you if you'd like." Hinata offered, sipping the last of her own drink and making a face as she swallowed it. Not much of a sake gal, that one. "I'm making the invitations for everyone else. I can make Gaara's early and send it to him this week so he can plan ahead."

"You're such a life safer." Naruto gushed, and his tone was as earnest as ever.

Naruto and Hinata had become closer than ever after the war and Kiba would really never have enough words in the world to describe how happy that made him. He'd been watching Hinata's crush on Naruto ever since they were children and he always knew, deep down, Hinata would never get what she was hoping for and as a friend it pained him to even think like that. He wanted Hinata to be happy and in love, not in love and waiting on someone who didn't feel the same way for her. Naruto was a sweet guy, though, and he'd let Hinata down so gently that Kiba had wanted to thank him personally, even if Hinata's feelings had still been hurt. It was about time Hinata was given the chance to move on, and now that she was absolutely smitten with Shino...well, Kiba was just glad.

Again, his dad filtered into his mind. Had his dad pined after his mother the way Hinata had for Naruto? Probably not; he wouldn't have bailed on them that quickly if he had been that in love. Love. Was his father ever actually  _in love_  with his mother? It wasn't a new concept for people to marry for reasons other than love, but his mom didn't seem like that kind of woman. Had his mother been in love?

Kiba downed the last of his sake in one gulp, slamming his cup down with a little more force than he planned, making a couple of his friends jolt in surprise. He blinked and scoffed a bit. "Sorry, my bad."

"You've been so distracted all night." Temari finally spoke up. Kiba was wondering how long the woman was going to be watching him before she finally said something. It was down right  _scary_  how well Temari could read people in any situation. Kind of annoying too, if you asked Kiba. She cocked her head a him, holding her half empty glass in her hand. "What's bugging you, huh?"

"Shino." Kiba replied, as if on auto-pilot. Shino's elbow jammed itself into his ribs and Kiba yelped, shooting a glare at his best friend before he huffed and looked back at Temari. She was waiting for his reply, an elegant eyebrow arched at him. Kiba frowned and sighed, a hand running through his hair. "Just been thinking about weird shit lately, I guess."

"Like what?" Shikamaru hadn't spoken up in the last twenty minutes, but now he was alert, sitting up and eyeing Kiba with a look that could only be described as concerned curiosity. Kiba didn't talk about his feelings much during these get togethers so he was sure everyone was more than a little curious. It made Kiba shift a little bit in his seat, uncomfortable with so much concerned attention on him.

"I don't know. Just..." He paused to try and find the right words. Akamaru, who had been sleeping with his head resting in Kiba's lap this whole time, nudged his wet nose into his arm, a comforting gesture that calmed him down just a little. He sighed and shrugged as he looked back up at the curious gazes of all of his friends. "I've been thinking about my dad a lot lately."

"Your dad?" Choji echoed, resting his chin in his palm as he focused on Kiba more. "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." Kiba assured with a small shake of his head, kind of wishing he was a bit more drunk for this conversation. "It's just...I don't know. I was a toddler when he was around and I barely remember anything about the guy. He bailed on us before I could even talk correctly." He paused to stare at his empty glass and frowned a bit, but Shino was quickly, and quietly, pouring him another drink. Bless Shino, honestly. "Thanks man...I don't even know why I've been thinking about him. It never bothered me when we were kids."

"I think it's perfectly natural to think about him." Neji murmured, the first words spoken by him in nearly an hour. When Kiba looked at the Hyuuga he was surprised to see that Neji was sitting up straight and looked more coherent now as he stared at Kiba. "Our situations aren't the same but I think about my father a lot as well, especially when something good happens to me or I achieve a goal. It's natural to think about the people no longer in our lives."

Kiba stared into his cup for a moment or two before taking a sip and rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "I guess so." He frowned a little bit and set his cup down, letting his hands fall to his lap so he could pet Akamaru instead, to try and stay calm. "I get what you're saying Neji, honestly...but your dad died. Mine just...left. He decided my mom was too much or too scary or something and left. He's out there somewhere living his life knowing damn well he abandoned his wife and kids. It's...it's fucked up."

Kiba had a temper, something he knew for a fact he got from his mom. He could already feel the way his stomach was twisting in irritation. From his lap Akamaru whined softly, licking at his hand gently. Thank god for Akamaru; Kiba would have lost his mind without the big guy. He was going to forever be thankful for his mother giving Akamaru to him when he was a boy.

"Dad's can suck sometimes." Temari murmured before taking a drink of her sake.

"I'm not even mad for my sake," Kiba insisted, frowning as he stared down at Akamaru, who looked up at him with a gentle, knowing look. "I'm mad for my sister's sake. She knew him more than I did and she always had good things to say about him. I'm mad for my mom's sake. She must have loved the guy, right? And he just...bails! What the hell kind of guy walks out on his family like that?"

"A coward, probably." Sasuke chimed in. Kiba hadn't expected Sasuke to say much on the matter. He set his own glass down, looking at Kiba thoughtfully for a moment before he finally gave a shrug. "Did your mother talk about him at all when you were a child?"

Getting his mom to talk about his dad had been one of the hardest things in the world when Kiba was a child. She either changed the subject or out right refused, only giving in a couple of times when Kiba was finally a teenager. He'd felt guilty for asking for so long that when his mom had finally given up a little bit of information Kiba had soaked it up and stopped asking altogether. "Not really. Hana talked about him more than Mom did, but Hana only had memories from when she was a kid. Nothing super useful, y'know? Mom always got upset or changed the subject when I asked her. When I was a teenager she gave me some information but it wasn't much. Just stuff like what his favorite color was, how they met and other stuff."

Sasuke nodded a little bit and it felt so strange to have Sasuke's attention on him like this. It wasn't like he and Sasuke never talked because ever since he and Naruto had started being a thing, Kiba had spent a lot of time with Sasuke. They talked about a lot of things, but family matters was something Kiba never talked much about with anyone. He couldn't imagine why Sasuke would be so interested in Kiba's crisis, but Kiba wasn't about to stop talking now; he was buzzed and the emotional flood gates were opening.

"Does your mother have pictures of him in your house?" Sasuke asked, glancing away from Kiba to watch Naruto nearly spill teriyaki sauce on himself.

"Nah," Kiba shook his head a little bit, glancing over as he watched Shino pour a glass of water for Hinata. He looked back at Sasuke after a moment. "She's got a box with his pictures and some stuff in it. His old kunai, a couple of shirts he left, hand written letters...Fucker had the prettiest hand writing I've ever seen, I'll admit."

"Well, it sounds like he must have meant a lot to your mother then if she avoids speaking about him and keeps his photos somewhere they can't be seen." Sasuke reasoned, finally tearing his gaze away from Kiba so he could reach for the Sake bottle that Naruto currently had. He poured himself another drink and then held the bottle out for Sai's out stretched hand. "It makes sense you're angry on your mom and sisters behalf; I think anyone would be."

"Kiba, if you don't mind me asking, why did he leave your mother?" Lee chimed in finally, after eating his fill of fried pork and vegetables to try and chase off the buzz he had been getting. Rock Lee didn't get drunk, after all. He set his bowl, half filled with rice, down on the table and reached for the pitcher of water. "You don't have to say so if you don't want to. I'm just trying to get a better understanding; I have never heard you mention your father before."

"Mom scared him off, I guess." Kiba's stomach growled. Right. Food was probably a good idea. He hadn't even touched the food since they all arrived and the booze was starting to burn his stomach. He grabbed a bowl from he middle of the table, one filled with rice, and threw a couple of slices of beef onto the grill, watching them sizzle for a moment. "You guys know my mom. She's scary. Tough. From what I can remember and what I was told Dad just couldn't handle it so he left."

Sakura scoffed loudly, cheeks flushed from the sake. She was following in Tsunade's footsteps in  _every_  sense, it seemed. "No offense Kiba but he sounds like an ass."

"Yeah, can't handle a woman that doesn't wanna be all prim and proper?" Tenten set her own bowl down and shook her head. "He sounds like a complete tool. Your mom is awesome, man."

"Scary is right, though." Naruto agreed through a mouthful of food, making Sasuke grimace at him a little. "Not a woman I'd wanna piss off. But yeah your dad sounds lame, Kiba. From everything you've said it sounds like you're way more of a man than he is."

"Damn right I'm more of a man than he is." Kiba scowled a little bit, shoveling some rice into his mouth. "My mom and sister raised me right. It's just so frustrating knowing he's out there somewhere and never...bothered to even come back. It's not like I'm expecting him to show up and shack up with mom again. But like show up and see what Hana does for a living! Be proud of how awesome his fucking daughter is! Show up and see how much more of a man his son is than him!"

Shino's hand on his shoulder made Kiba blink a little, relaxing a little bit as his friend gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. He knew the others were feeling bad for him and  _pity_  was something Kiba was not a fan of. He shrugged off Shino's shoulder and reached over to flip his meat on the grill, feeling just a little calmer as he spoke again. "Just makes me wonder what my mom saw in a coward like that."

"You know Kiba," Sakura tucked some hair behind her ear, letting Ino take her sake glass from her other hand. "If it bothers you that much you should just go find him and tell him how you feel."

Kiba couldn't stop from snorting loudly. "Sakura, I have no clue where he is. He left the village when he bailed on us."

Sakura rolled her eyes a little. "Yes, but anyone who moves from the Leaf has to provide information on where they moved to. I'm sure there's records of where he went after he left Konoha. I could find them for you if you wanted."

Kiba blinked and, for just a moment, he couldn't remember how to move. He felt disconnected for a second, like his body wasn't his own all of a sudden, before he was finally able to clear his throat. Everyone was watching him again but this time their gazes felt ten times as heavy on him, ten times as intense. He leaned back after pulling his meat from the grill, dumping them into his bowl. "I've never considered actually looking for him."

"I think you deserve to get the answers to whatever questions you have." Sakura told him gently.

"Sakura's right." Naruto reached over, nearly falling onto the table so he could pat Kiba's shoulder. "You deserve to know that stuff and to tell the guy how you feel."

Kiba had great friends, a fact he had know for years now. But sitting at the table with his friends looking at him like  _that_ , supportive and excited for him, made him remember just how much he loved all of them. How much they'd all grown together. His smile softened and he glanced at Sakura again, giving her a small nod. "Then if you can get that information I'd...appreciate it, Sakura. I really would."

Sakura's smile was wide and bright and beautiful as she nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Kiba."

The conversation shifted away from Kiba after that, focused more on Naruto and Sasuke's wedding, and then focused on Lee who had started to get drunk despite their best efforts. It was calmer now and Kiba wasn't as anxious or worked up, but he stopped drinking after a few more glasses. He still lived with his mom, after all, and didn't want to walk into the house drunk off his ass and give his mom trouble.

By the time their festivities ended Kiba felt content, walking out with Akamaru, Hinata, and Shino following behind him. Hinata hadn't gotten very drunk either but she was still a little buzzed, arm linked with Shino's to avoid stumbling over her own feet. It wasn't very late, barely ten, but the booze had made Kiba's limbs feel heavy and he was tired, either from the booze or the emotional conversation.

"Kiba, are you really going to hunt down your father?" Shino's voice startled him a little bit. He looked over to see both of his team mates looking at him, waiting for a reply.

He pursed his lips a bit as he thought it over. The night air was warm and around them the smells from other restaurants lingered in the air. The streets were still pretty busy for this late at night, making Akamaru press closer to Kiba was they walked. "I think I will, yeah. Does it sound like a dumb idea?"

"No, not dumb." Shino replied gently, shaking his head a little bit. "It's a big thing, you know. I didn't realize things with your father were bothering you so much."

"Neither did I." Kiba admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's weird because I never thought about it when we were younger. But we had so much shit going on and everything...now that I'm older and things are calm I just have all these questions."

"I think it's great that you want to find him." Hinata told him, but there was a hesitance in her voice. "But it can be very emotional...you might not like the answers you get."

"Exactly." Shino agreed, sighing softly as he looked over at Kiba again. "It's like you said earlier. It's been this long and he hasn't made any attempts to show himself. I feel like a man like that...won't be worth the effort you want to go to. I understand this is something you have to do, Kiba, but you should be cautious."

"We just don't want you to get hurt." Hinata clarified, her voice softer than before. As if she was worried Kiba would be upset.

But Kiba could understand their worry, though and he was touched that they were concerned. They had a special bond, the three of them, one he didn't have with anyone else. They knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. He didn't feel like he deserved them sometimes, not when he was so bad at helpful advice and voicing his own feelings. But they took him into their hearts easily, even if he was rough around the edges and talking about his own feelings made him want to bury himself in the dirt. He needed people like them, Shino who could ground him when he was getting in over his head Hinata who could offer him advice without any filter for his feelings. Raw honesty and compassion. That's what they had between the three of them. They were his pack and he loved them with all his heart.

Kiba sighed softly and looked up at the sky for a second, looking at the moon and the stars. "Well if he's not worth the effort then at least I'll know. I know you guys are concerned and stuff and I appreciate it, I do. But I have to at least know what he's like. I can't even remember his face on my own. When my mom finally let me see all those pictures of him she had hidden away I didn't recognize him. When I think about him now I can't picture his face and I don't even remember his voice. It...I need to know. I need to know where he went and why he didn't think we were worth coming back to." He looked back at his team mates, smiling softly. "If he's an ass I'll just punch him. I've got the right, don't I?"

Shino snorted softly and nodded. "Yeah, you do."

They reached their parting point, the fork in the road where they branched off to their own homes, Kiba to his mothers and Shino to the Hyuuga home with Hinata. They faced each other and just as Kiba was read to sling an arm around Shino and wish him a goodnight, the other man spoke up, making Kiba pause.

"We'll come with you, you know. When you go find him."

Hinata nodded in agreement, smiling softly at him. "Yes. Wherever you have to go to find him we'll come with you."

"Ah, jeez you guys..." Kiba smiled softly and threw his arms around them both, squeezing just enough to win him a huff of annoyance from Shino. He took a step back from them and gave them a small shake of his head. "Thanks but...if I do this I think I have to do it on my own. You know? Even if you guys are  _amazing_  emotional support."

Shino looked like he wanted to argue, an eyebrow arched a little bit as he stared back at Kiba. He didn't argue though, and instead looped an arm around Hinata's shoulders as he nodded. "Alright. Go home and get some rest, Kiba."

Kiba watched the two walk away, headed down the path that led them to the Hyuuga home. A smile pulled at his lips and he sighed softly, bringing a hand up to pat Akamaru's side gently. "Come on, Boy, let's go home."

With an excited, half bark Akamaru took off running down the path, eager to get back home. Kiba snorted and ran after him, sweating through his T-shirt and jacket by the time he found himself in front of his home, panting softly. Akamaru licked his face a couple of times and Kiba opened up the front door, chuckling as Akamaru rushed off and disappeared, probably to go find his pups and their mother. Kicking his shoes off in the door way, Kiba shrugged off his jacket and took a second to listen. The house was quiet, meaning his mom must have gone to bed early.

Good. He didn't trust himself to not start babbling the second he saw her. He wasn't ready to tell her what was on his mind, not yet anyways. For now some sleep sounded great and as he sunk into his bed a few minutes later, he decided not to think about how his mother would react for now. Step by step.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments? I'd appreciate it!  
> Follow my [Tumblr](http://my-tatteredwingsof-freedom.tumblr.com/)


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